Tag: Jack Snyder

This is NOT, repeat…NOT, a spoiler. It’s not even speculation based on spoilers. It’s one writer’s comment about where a storyline could potentially go, and what it would mean if it happened. As far as fans are concerned, ATWT’s writers might be penning a storyline about an angry, know-it-all, teenaged boy. OR they could be writing a storyline about a young man who is on the verge of becoming violent to the women in his life. I couldn’t watch ATWT after Parker’s display the other day. I found them disturbing. His verbal attacks on Liberty and his mother, his controlling actions toward Liberty, his lack of concern about humiliating her in front of ‘another man’… it all adds up to a potential abuse storyline, in my book. I could be overly sensitive, given the current media focus on the Rhianna-Chris Brown matter, I admit that.

Whether or not the writers are headed in that direction is unclear, but it’s the impression they leave on this viewer. If Parker ever smiled, I can’t remember it. The idea that he was once a happy child is lost on me, given his behavior of the last year or so. I don’t know if his current sour demeanor is a choice made by the actor, the writers, or the director – but it has become off-putting. I keep waiting for him to take a swing at either Carly, or his ‘wife’ in one of his fits of rage. Has no one notice his penchant for nonverbally referring to his mother as a ‘whore’, and even tacitly implying it with his dialogue? The look he shot Carly when she opened the hotel door and saw a disheveled Craig in the background made me want to shake that kid out of his shoes! The one person who has always been on his side, who has fought for him every step of the way, and he treated her as if she was renting that room by the hour. It hardly bothers Parker that his father is off with a new woman every other year. It’s that his mother isn’t sitting in a nunnery, waiting for his father’s rare returns to the family, that seems to disturb him.

At this point, as storyline with an abusive Parker would make perfect sense – as sad as that is. The question is, who would be is target? Liberty, Carly, or both? If Parker did become abusive, how would it not only impact the women he hurt, but those around him? Would it impact his father at all? Parker grew up in a home with a father who was at times loving, and at other times angry and verbally abusive to his mother. Parker, himself, became the target of his father’s rage when he married Liberty. Jack threw Parker out of a home he no longer lives in.

What impact would Parker’s abuse have on Jack? Would it lead him to reflect on the abuse he’s leveled at Carly in the presence of their children?

Would it cause him to reflect on how many times he’s referred to Carly as irresponsible, selfish, or deserving of his (and their) scorn in front of his children?

Would he reflect on how many times he sat silent while Parker berated his mother?

Would Carly FINALLY learn to stand up for herself and stop talking garbage from Jack, who has only ever been able to love her as long as he found himself able to ‘approve’ of the person she was? Would she realize that allowing Jack to verbally abuse her created an environment in which her son was put at risk?

Would Jack take some responsibility for Parker’s anger, or would he revert back to type and simply fault Carly for Parker’s actions?

Watching Liberty and Carly struggle to forgive Parker, while still loving him and wanting the best for him could be instructive and informative, no matter how sad. Parker’s behavior is every bit as angry and controlling as his father’s, except in Parker’s case, it’s far worse.

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Speaking of things that scare me… Z and Z? How much MORE are fans expected to take? I’ve had more than enough of these two and trying to figure out what purpose they serve is beginning to give me an ulcer! I have been able to find the one silver lining in the dark ZandZ cloud: we know that Nuke’s love is solid! They’ve avoided any sort of temptation, so far, at least. That ‘Z” or “Z” could appeal to Luke OR Noah seems like an impossibility. There’s nothing likable about the characters.

What also scares me is that I’m enjoying the prospect of Damian and Lily crossing the line. I KNOW! How many more affairs could Holden and Lily have in the course of one lifetime, but c’mon…he’s DAMIAN (Damiangodofallmen) and he’s been shirtless. I’m weak… so so weak when it comes to Damian. I can understand Lily being weak for him as well.

Regression toward the mean? I don’t think so. ATWT’s Parker just keeps sinking lower. There’s no point at which this kid hits higher ground, nor has he hit the bottom it seems. His mother has struggled for his sake. She’s given up a hell of a lot for his sake. She’s eaten more crap that kid has shoveled out than any SANE person would. And it’s still never enough. He just keeps doling out more. No matter what vile thing anyone else as has done, Parker takes such delight in making his mother feel like garbage. Carly was so excited when she thought Parker wanted to speak to her and let her be a part of solving his latest fiasco. The look on her face, the sadness, when she realized that he only wanted Craig’s attention. Geez, it left me feeling kicked in the gut along with Carly.

So imagine my surprise when Craig refused to indulge Parker’s adolescent tendencies to berate his mother and then refused to talk to him if she wasn’t included in the conversation.. I actually cheered the guy on! That’s a new feeling for me. While I once loved Craig, warts and all, his warts have only grown bigger and are now covered with hair (disgusting, I know). Craig hasn’t been a character I’ve cared much about for quite some time, until now. I’m starting to see what makes C&C work as a couple. What Craig and Carly have in common is the slow destruction of their characters, done to allow other characters their moments in the limelight. Carly has become the Oakdale sinner to Janet’s saint, harlot to Janet the reclaimed virgin. Craig has become the fun-bad-guy turned deeply disturbed and murderous, no matter who his rival is.

I’ve been hard on ATWT’s writers for having transformed Carly from a classic and beloved bad girl, into a romantic heroine, and again into a punching bag for the pathetic men in her family and the objects of their obsessions: mother-daughter pair Janet and Liberty Ciccone. As much of an ass that Parker has been, he’s only repeating the crude comments uttered by his father: that Carly is jealous and hellbent on destroying HIS (Jack’s) happiness, she’s selfish for not readily agreeing to let him take out a second mortgage on the ONLY home she owns – so that he can build a home for Janet. Is there any wonder that Parker views calling his mother pathological perfectly acceptable?

Had it been Jack standing there with Carly? He would have either said to Carly 1- that she needed to let HIM handle it (being Parker’s only decent parent and all that jazz), or 2 – to not blow things out of porportion! He would have asked her what she expected given her own behavior! Jack would have excused Parker by blaming Carly. Jack has hardly been Carly’s partner in reigning Parker in under control since her return. Jack was content to allow him to say and do anything, as long as he relied on his 15 year old son to tell him what a prince among men he was, how much he should be proud of himself from moving on from Carly, and how worthless, petty, and jealous Carly was. Now that Parker has become unbearable, the writers should have Jack reflect on his behavior and how much he contributed to Parker’s obnoxious and over-the-top attitude.

As for Craig? I am still not completely sold on him as a partner for Carly, after all the man IS responsible for the injuries that caused her sister to lapse into a comma. That said, I’m a darned sight closer to accepting Carly and Craig as a couple than I ever have been before. Ultimately, I would love it if Carly was permitted to deal with Parker on her own, and only rely on Craig as emotional support, not as her ‘savior’ or the individual she ‘needs’ help from in turning her son around. Imagine that? A woman in control of her own destiny and in control of her own children!

It’s weird how daytime now makes viewers wish for the things most of us experience in our every day lives.

I’m not at all a sports fan, but I do understand the sports concept of ‘sudden death’ – I think! As I understand it, ‘sudden death’ refers to the end of a game when teams are tied in score. It’s a sort of ‘overtime’ that ends when the first team posts a score – breaking the tie. Game over! I had that feeling the other day watching Carly and Jax gush over their endless love. They were sure that they’d gotten it right, this time, that nothing would come between them. I cringed. It’s almost always the first sign that trouble is on the horizon. I hope that’s not the case. I like them together. I think they’re one of the best things to happen to GH in a long time and GH desperately needs them if TPTB are going to screw around with SCRUBS love. There’ll be no romance left if SCRUBS loses out and GH_CarJax goes (not to be confused with ATWT_CarJax and the plummeting ratings that happened when they were once again trashed).

Carly has FINALLY found love with someone who doesn’t expect her to be a ‘good girl’ and hide in the shadows while he does business. Carly doesn’t have to leave the room when Jax is on the phone for fear of being legally incriminated. Jax’s business associates have probably never done time – unless it is some wacky white collar crime that lands them in some posh ‘Club Fed’ for a year or two. Jax respects her, and she tries her damnedest to respect him, too. It’s been a long time since Carly has had a relationship with a man who considers her his equal. All the happy-happy-joy-joy she spreads, now, is so much better than the angry posturing she did while with Sonny. She seems happier. She looks happier. She can no longer be compared to an angry pitbull, biting before thinking. HELL, I’M happier just watching the love Carly and Jax share.

SO! If there’s going to be a ‘sudden death’ for Jax and Carly, let it be this: let the writers realize that Jax and Carly are pretty much tied with Carly and Sonny in terms of the lifetime of crazy drama each couple has suffered. Let the writers realize that J&C have probably hit restart on their relationship as often as C&S have. At this point, Carly and Jax have broken the tie… they’ve managed to stay together and work harder on their relationship than Carly and Sonny have ever dreamed of doing. Sudden death in favor of GH_ CARJAX! It’s time to set aside the epic that was Carly and Sonny and focus on the JC relationship. Sonny and Carly are the past, as they should be.

Liz and… Patrick? Sudden Death

With future spoilers suggesting Liz’s ever growing presence in the lives of Robin and Patrick, I’d be willing to venture a guess that putting Liz and Patrick together would be a different sort o f ‘sudden death’ for Elizabeth Webber. She’ll have tied any record of insane moves for a GH character and BROKEN it. I think it would be the end of her character, as we know it, and that fans will finally have run out patience with the character.

Her relationship with Zander (Cam’s father) left me with blurred vision. How the hell did THAT happen? Lucky, no Jason, no Lucky, no Zander, no Lucky, no Jason… possibly Patrick!?!?! If Liz’ presence in SCRUBS’ life is to provide support to Robin, and to continue to be there as a FRIEND to both of them, I’m all for it. Otherwise? thanks but no. It’s time to have not-Emily-but-Rebecca and Elizabeth Webber climb the Cassadine tower-of-death that so many GH characters seem to keep leaping from, never to be seen or heard of again!

Ethan, Sudden Death

I’d actually have to not have a pulse to care less about Ethan. I’m still trying to figure out what purpose he serves? My preference would be for him to be a relative of Holly’s, a nephew perhaps, to scam Luke and make off with the last of Luke’s cash. I’d hoped in the past that Ethan was around to help Luke realize what a colossal ass he’s been and to turn his life around. He’s spent almost no time caring for or helping to raise his children. He’s left them to their own devices (not exactly a tribute to his love for Laura), so I would be completely without sympathy for the man if Ethan is pulling one of the greatest cons in GH history: conning the con! Ethan hitting Lucky? Not cool, not cool at all.

After that, Ethan can go wherever in the world he wants, as long as he goes. He can climb the Cassadine tower WITH not-Emily-but-Rebecca and Elizabeth Spencer. GH’s canvas is already littered with great characters who never see the light of day. Give me a three-fer, Christmas in March – if you will.

In this case, sudden death isn’t a sports reference, it’s a suggestion. Get rid of these three. They serve no purpose other than to stick a thumb in the eye of GH fans who deserve better. The most interesting thing I could say about the loss of Elizabeth, is that there could be a great custody battle for young Cam and Jake, if anything happened to her. Count me in as part of “Team Lucky”!

If there was a Brass Cojones award for daytime males, I’d have to nominate the following four characters:

3 – The YnR’s Victor Newman. Victor recently referred to rival Jack Abbott as an arrogant S.O.B. As soon as I regained consciousness from laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe (hence the passing out), I realized that Victor has a brass pair so big that the man must wear TWO pairs of pants to contain them.

This is the man who told the love of his life, mother of most of his children, that she would still be a stripper in the dive bar he found her in if it weren’t for him (a bitterly cruel thing to say to a woman at midlife, dontcha’ think?). Apparently, he helped her grow a brain, get a little ambition, and become a person of virtue. ::swoon:: Sure, if it weren’t for him, she’d still be sliding that pole, not a thought in her head, gigglin’ and jigglin’. Victor just wanted her to know that. And they say romance is dead! Victor should be happy that he married Nikki and not a woman who would have taken half of everything in a divorce, including half the brass.

2 – OLTL’s Jared Banks. Jared recently offered to help Clint Buchanan keep hot-stuff David Vickers from finding out that he was the rightful heir to Buchanan Enterprises. He wants to make sure the company stays in the hands of the ‘original family’. Oh yeah, people, he used THOSE words.

In the process of agreeing to help Clint, Jared- the soulless recast his own attempt to defraud the Buchanans, by pretending to be the rightful heir to Asa’s fortune, as an act of ‘protection’. He and Natalie were only ‘protecting’ the Buchanans from David’s evil greedy dirty deed doing self. The problem is that Jared stole David’s share of BE from the ‘original family’ before finding out who the real heir was. He did it out of greed – and revenge against Tess. It’s an act that cost the family its company and allowed Dorian Lord to take over. It was also an act that resulted in Nash Brennan losing his life.

Will someone let me know when Jared is gone? For good, that is.

Tied for second is the dark shadow, prince of pain, the man who works at trying to make morose look hot: Johnny Boy McBain. Does it astound anyone else that John is self-righteous about Marty drinking and sexing her anger away? Does it strike anyone else as odd that it’s how McBain was introduced, and how he’s lived as a character the entire time he’s been around?

Does McBain care because he wants what’s best for Marty? Does he care because he’s jealous? Is it just the case that it’s hard to look at the female version of himself (down to the black clothing)?

I keep waiting for someone to ask John why it’s ok for him to turn blue skies gray and grunt his way through relationships that end up leaving the women who love him shattered and feeling used. I was hoping it would be Marty who took him on.

3 – ATWT’s Jack Snyder. It takes a lot of nerve for a man to bring second mortgage papers for his ex-wife to sign for the home she still lives in with their children. It takes even more nerve to ask her to let you take out a second mortgage to allow you to buy your new wife and her kid a home. You’d think that would be enough, right? You don’t know Jack, then.

Jack earns the ‘Brass Cojones’ award for telling his ex-wife, as the second mortgage papers are sitting on her desk, to not accept a loan from the town’s mustache twirling villain: Craig Montgomery(pictured right). Craig, it appears, is so evil that Carly’s utter devastation and loss of all of she has left, professionally, is better than accepting his money. Sure… It’s much better that Carly be unemployed and in debt from a bad business venture. It’s much better that she spend her days hoping Jack and Janet take a break from sniffing the fantasy laced room full of flowers and sunshine in the new home built from her children’s financial security long enough to pay back the second mortgage so that she doesn’t lose her home, too.

If you’re keeping count, Jack wears FOUR pairs of pants to hold his brass in and even then there’s a little spillage. It’s not pretty.

Clearly there are new writers on board. There HAVE to be! How else can you explain the highly emotional grief scenes following Phoebe’s death!?!? It’ s been a long time since I’ve cried over BnB scenes because they were so highly emotional. Usually if I’m crying over a BnB scene, it’s because of the self-pity I feel knowing I haven’t been able to break my BnB viewing habit.

Jacqueline MacInnes Wood was pitch perfect and completely sold me as the soul shattered twin sister unable to fathom living the rest of her life without her other half. Together with Ronn Moss ‘Steffy’ and ‘Ridge’ broke my heart opening the bag containing Phoebe’s personal effects and gingerly removing each time… a shoe, a bag, a hair clip, on their own -each with seeming no real value, now invaluable because of the fact that Phoebe wore them in her last moments.

I shuddered when I saw the door to the hospital morgue. I waited for the gratuitous and exploitive “bloodied and battered” Phoebe images. I was wrong. The writers handled those scenes with a sensitivity rarely seen on this show. They’ve done us proud. For the record, if there is a new team at bat, HIRE THEM… they’re good. If it really is the same writing team, what the hell? Why aren’t we getting this level of writing more often? I don’t even need it daily, just more frequently than we’ve been treated to the past… say… 6 or 7 years!

Young and the Restless

I’m sorry. I think I’m losing my hearing. I thought I heard Lauren express shock at Gloria’s self-centered behavior and her willingness to allow an innocent party to be blamed for something they hadn’t done. I was shocked that SHE was shocked. Two words: Ashley Abbott… Two more: Face Cream.

Are the writers confused? Is there another character named Gloria living in fictional Genoa City? There has to be, because otherwise the writers could never have written those lines. Instead, they would have had Lauren tell Gloria that it’s time she STOPPED allowing others to pay for her lies and her selfishness.

Apparently Kay Chancellor isn’t the only GC resident with a look-a-like, and not the only one suffering from memory loss.

BTW, Phyllis, seriously? It’s not like this is the FIRST marriage you’ve broken up, what’s up with that plan to split Jack and Sharon? What would make her think that Sharon would immediately run to Brad? If Sharon is getting close with Nick, again, and she becomes a free woman, wouldn’t it make sense that she’d have to keep an eye on her wandering, philandering husband? Great going there, big red. Phyllis is just a little rusty at manipulating others.

One Life to Live

Oh sure… kill off Nash, bring back Tess, add new alter for Jessica, and then hook her up with the ‘new Nash’. In this case, I think the writers think WE’RE new. Can Jessica please have a love life that doesn’t revolve around alternate personalities and psychiatric care? Please? I’ll admit, I love Jess/Tess/Bess and Brody, I just wish the writers hadn’t used the same plot line they used to pull Tessica and Nash together.

I can only assume that it’s tacit admission that getting rid of Jess and Nash was a FOOLISH move, especially for a storyline that had enormous potential ending with a whimper and not a bang. The revenge storyline became diluted and distracting when it got in the way of other, less compelling, storylines. Natalie and Jared replacing Jessica and Nash as the show’s hot young couple felt like a pipe dream from the beginning.Nared-Jatalie (whatever couple name they’ve earned) are a chemistry challenged couple that makes ‘romance’ feel like a four letter word -and not fun dirty four letter words, either.

I don’t understand the writers’ fascination with Natalie and Jared as a couple and I also don’t understand the sudden forgiveness for their actions. It was Jessica who was angry, and felt betrayed. Jessica watched her husband die. Jessica held him in his last moments. Jessica had to tell him about a child he’d never get to hold. I don’t want Jessica to hate her sister the rest of her life, but the idea that she’s now beyond what’s happened, and that it’s ok that Natalie and Jared are caring for her children just seems odd. At the very least, what should make Jessica’s recovery so difficult is being conflicted, both feeling guilty that Tess took things so far -but still feeling betrayed and feeling angry about their role in Nash’s death, and their role in her family’s financial difficulties in losing BE. To have Natalie and Jared back in good stead just feels hollow and rings false.

Thank goodness I have Gigi/Rex/Shane to take my mind off of the rest of it. I love that Shane still loves his hero father, Brody, while being willing to slowly get to know his biological father, Rex. I think it’s realistic for Shane to be confused and still love the man he’s thought of as his father his entire life. I love that he’s a sensitive and loving child. I love that Rex is patient, and respects Shane’s feelings. I’m actually looking forward to more of this little family.

Days of Our Lives

Oh, I should have known. Nicole Walker Dimera (emphasis on Dimera)! What have you done? WHY, writers, WHY? She loves Brady so much, to think that she would try to send him back to his addiction to protect her pregnancy lie? That’s far too vicious, even for Nicole. How could I have fooled myself into thinking the writers would make the character capable of anything else? Oh well… I’m in for the long and the short of it. Nicole will have to face whatever she has coming. It will be well deserved. If she succeeds in the long run, move me to the ‘love to hate’ column for a while. Eventually I’ll find a way to forgive N.W.D. for her dastardly actions… I’m so weak. The writers always get me when it comes to this character.

As The World Turns

Oh dear. I’ll bet you thought that Carly would be vindicated! I’ll bet you thought that the magnificent Snarly had Janet and her demon seed dead to rights, right? HA! What are you, NEW? This is As The World Turns. Everyone turns on Carly, including her own children.

Parker forged Carly’s signature, Liberty encouraged it, and it was ‘all good’ because their criminal activity was only about making someone else happy, namely Janet. Sure, Janet is more deserving than most people. It’s ok for her to want a 5k wedding gown, marrying a man with three children, making a cop’s salary. Seriously? That she never looked at the price tag is no excuse, in some ways, it’s WORSE that she didn’t look. Did she really believe that an upscale boutique would have cheap gowns?

Parker has to humiliate his mother in front of Janet and Liberty. Great. He forged the signature on his trust fund check to make Liberty happy… and that’s Carly’s fault. They were willing to continue lying about it until they were caught… and that’s Carly’s fault, too; she’s just an evil angry jealous bitch out to stop their happiness (uh, huh, despite the fact that she AGREED to let her jackass ex- take out a second mortgage on their house to pay for his wedding to another woman). This is the man who attacks Carly for the kind of mother she is, NEVER thanking her for raising a child HE brought into their marriage (JJ) after initially abandoning her and their other children, for JJ and his mother, batshit crazy Julia2.

I’m ready to give up on As The World Turns. It’s not JUST the Kick the Carly storylines that are doing it for me. The KTC storylines are symptomatic of a larger problem- the overall lack of balance on this show. I think I’ve had my fill. Someone contact me when the ‘Kick the Jackass’ storylines start (Jack-Janet, take your pick!)

Just a word of caution, writers… viewers who are raising, or have raised, children are NOT entertained by a smart-assed obnoxious kid like Parker. It’s tiring of having the show held hostage by the writers’ interpretation of teenaged hormones gone awry. Liberty-Parker sex scenes, groping, lusting, crying, conspiring, and now attacking Carly for having LEGITIMATE concerns. Get a clue, folks. Surely JJ is missing his brother, by now. It’s time to send Parker and Liberty away to school.

Bell: It appears as if this is the great reunion. There are always people who may want to get in their way. Stephanie is certainly one. Nick Marone may factor into it. But we’re getting incredibly close. We’re at a point where we just can’t imagine they’ve reached this level. They’ve been through so much. How can this not be forever?

Weekly: In your mind, are they each other’s soul mates?

Bell: So much of this series is about Brooke and Ridge, from early on until now. It’s amazing that we still have Ron and Kelly, that they look so beautiful, that their chemistry has not waned at all. This is an incredible climax to this whole saga.

Well now… from EARLY ON it’s been about Brooke and Ridge? From EARLY ON!?!?!? Ah… BINGO! Anyone who’s watched this show from the day it aired has known that. It was ‘the look’ that launched Bridge, and ‘the look’ between these characters that has kept so many fans hooked on this show.

The war on love between Brooke and Ridge has left behind a string of casualties, on and off the screen. On screen we have Eric, Thorne, Grant, Taylor, Ashley, James, and a host of others who came close, but never really close enough to keeping Brooke and Ridge apart. Off screen? The fans – those who are still watching, those who gave up on the writers long ago, who are victims of the BRidge tease. I still have my frustrations with the couple, namely Brooke – she drives me nuts and annoys the unholy hell out of me most of the time, and yet there’s a part of me that can’t get past what Brooke and Ridge are when they’re TOGETHER.

They have been the couple to ‘keep apart’ for over 21 years soap time. Taylor has manipulated and elbowed her way between them, Stephanie practically sits outside their bedroom door waiting for the chance to run in and steal Ridge away, Nick just sits by – waiting for a moment of vulnerability in order to slime his way in, Eric is always desperate and hopeful and inappropriate in his feelings for Brooke… the list goes on. In the end, they’ve only ever stood on the outside looking in and the writers have made it clear, far too many times, that the story was about BRidge love and the lengths all others would go to in order to keep them apart.

The big question is, are there enough fans still watching to trust that BRidge really can and will be happy this time? It’s hard to trust the BnB writers. Case in point? The 20th anniversary show. I’d recount what happened for those of you who missed it, but I don’t want to be responsible for making adults cry (a nod ando condolences to those of you who did watch it).

ALL My Children

There’s a great deal of maturity in the AMC writing for Reese and Bianca. I can remember Erica’s one time utter revulsion at the thought that her little Binks was a lesbian. She was so sickened at the thought that another woman would touch her daughter that it pushed her to the brink of madness. Now? Reese, the love of Bianca’s life, is going to get the ‘Kane treatment’. Oh yes, Reese, someone should have warned you about Erica’s rocky relationships with her childrens’ spouses.
The minute I heard Erica say that Bianca needed help and that she felt Reese was taking advantage of Bianca’s good nature, I knew there was trouble brewing. At some point, there will be scenes of Zach and Reese sharing a beer, wondering what awful thing they did in their past lives that brought them to the point of finding love and ending up with Erica as a mother-in-law. Maybe they’ll flip a coin to figure out which of them will get to be the hero(ine), taping Erica’s mouth shut and shoving her in a dark, locked room.

Oh! I do feel a little guilty for saying that. Erica scored huge mommy points for bringing not one but TWO nannies to help take care of the kiddos. Freakin’ awesome. What mother DOESN’T dream about an on-call staff of nannies?

About the show’s other soul mates, I’m still hanging on for the Jesse/Angie arc. I wish the writers would hurry up and end the Greenlee/Aidan/Annie/Ryan storyline to make more time for Jessie and Angie. My only remorse about the end of the quad storyline is that there weren’t MORE shirtless Aidan scene. Oh what a happy girl I would have been had that happened.

As The World Turns

Jack and Janet as soul mates? Eh! If by ‘soul mates’ that means that they’re both so vapid and empty that it takes the TWO of them to create something resembling one complete ‘soul’? Oh, sure.

How about Dusty and nu-sorta-Jen-but-let’s-call-her-Josie-for-now? Nah, not yet! Give them time and they will be, I’m sure.

Luke and Noah? BINGO! I think that the student election storyline is probably one of the most insipid, yawn inducing storyline the writers could have imagined for these two. The aftermath? BRILLIANT. Noah turns Luke in? They fight over Noah’s cut-and-run behavior? They make up and Luke realizes that he needs Noah and tells him so? Begs him not to leave? Is their relationships stagnant? SURE. It is, I don’t think anyone would deny that Luke and Noah are the show’s longest running “relationship virgins” – kissing cousins Parker and Liberty had sex faster than these two.

So what’s so brilliant about Nuke (Noah and Luke)? Their scenes are so sweet and tender that they can sometimes make you forget that the couple hasn’t been intimate. The actors deserve recognition for creating an intimacy that doesn’t require sexual contact between characters to be real. The strength of the Nuke relationship, and the audience’s overwhelmingly positive reaction to the couple, rests squarely on the shoulders of the remarkable Van Hansis (Luke) and Jake Sillbermann (Noah). It sure as hell ain’t the writing that keeps fans tuning in. Van and Jake are able to transform writing best left to an elementary school play and turn it into broadway worthy material. The writers owe these kids, BIG! Now… give them more screen time, thank you very much.

The Young and the Restless

Victor and Ashley? Folks, I’m a Vic-Ashley fan from Waaaaay back. I hated Nikki for teaching Victoria to call Ashley the ‘wicked witch of the west’. I despised her even more when she deceived Ashley, making Ash believe that she was dying, leading Ash to abort Victor’s child. Ashley thought she was giving Nikki the will to live, or at least the opportunity to die in peace, with her family. Am I happy to see Victor and Ash back together? YES! All is right in my YnR world.

Do I think it will last? No. Even I know that Victor and Nikki are the show’s star-crossed lovers no matter who else they love or how many children Victor keeps having with other women. I know it will end, but I will enjoy Victor and Ashley for as long as they are around.

I don’t want to see Ash or Victor stick it to Nikki – it would mean their relationship isn’t real, it’s more about making HER miserable than the two of them being together, and that would be far too sad for me. Oh sure, Ashley deserves to have a little fun… but not too much. I also don’t want to see Victor treat Ash the way he’s treated Nikki – he can be a cruel S.O.B. I just want a little romance from SOMEONE on this show – a romance worth watching, that is.

I wonder how the mini-mustaches are going to take it when Victor returns with Ashley? Nick won’t have the room to be too critical of Victor. Adam would have no room to talk, at all. Victoria? After her speech of always feeling loved by her mother, but no so much by her father, I have a feeling that Ashley had better hang on to Victor with both hands. If she’s written true to form, I have no doubt that Victoria will try to pry Ashley and her father apart. Let the games begin!

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The way to this girl’s heart is through her favorite soap character… or at least through halfway decent writing! I was THRILLED, today, to hear Clint and Nora mention something they rarely talk about – their familial past. It was such an organic moment and so perfect, that I watched it twice. Given the closeness of Bo and Nora, I’ve never been able to really root for Clint and Nora, but today I ‘got it’. I realized what made them special. There’s a realism with Clint and Nora that most other couples lack.

Some couples have to be heavily in love – hot and steaming just to sell themselves (nice try DAYS’ Ej and Sami – no sale). Others have to be angry and bitterly fighting to prove their passion (yes, I’m talking about YOU GL’s Bill and Lizzie). Clint and Nora just have to ‘be’. When Nora asked Clint if he ever thought about why they were together, if they belong, if they were meant to be – his response floored me. He said that since she is his ex sister-in-law, some would say they didn’t belong together at all. I love when soaps acknowledge the ookyness that so many of us are feeling when they have siblings (or mothers-daugthers, fathers-sons) swap partners.

Yeah, I cried a little… ok, I would have under other circumstances, but you get the point. It was such a sweet ‘us against the world’ moment that no matter what happens with Clint and Nora, I’ll always have that one perfect day with them.

Listen carefully, ATWT’s writers. THAT’S how you write a mature romance. This whole thing with Blondie/Jack/Janet just makes me want to pluck my eyes out with Katie’s chopsticks, I tell ya’! In essence, Jack has reduced his ‘special’ time with Carly to a good roll in the hay, something he can’t get over or stop wanting. They have a ‘chemical attraction’ says the mighty Jack(ass) I thought I was being too harsh on Jack, yesterday. NOW? I realize that I’ve given him TOO much credit all along. Carly loves that pinhead with her whole heart. She wants Jack even when she can’t be with him physically. My entire gripe about Jack has been that when he’s in pursuit of another woman, he reduces Carly and his time with her to almost nothing. Today, he’s outdone himself.

Oh, and who didn’t see the mugging coming a mile away? Guilt guilt guilt…Jack will work even harder to make Janet happy — while sneaking off for ‘chemistry lessons’ with Carly. Janet doesn’t want to be Jack’s consolation prize, but dear writers, I’m starting to feel as if Janet is OUR consolation prize. I’d rather see more of a focus on CARLY’s happiness and having her finally have a place where she feels she belongs, with someone who finally and truly loves her. Janet? Not so much. I still just don’t care.

You’ve at least made up for shoving Janet at fans by giving us Henry and Vienna, Katie and Brad. We even got to see Bob and Kim (even if it was under pretty sad circumstances). Letting Chris Hughes go? What are you THINKING, PTB? That dude had ‘walking fantasy’ written all over him (at least, that’s what the sash he’s wearing says when he’s in MY dreams).

Speaking of dreams, GH left me pinching myself to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. Lainey LIVES! She’s so rarely seen that I’m always thrilled when there are any Lainey sightings on deck. I still mourn for the loss of Justice Ward when I see her, and wonder why the writers no only ended his short life the way they did, but then treated his relationship with Lainey as ‘no big thing’. It was so sad to hear her say that she wasn’t really close to Justice, but that she still felt bad about his death. OUCH!

Oh, and excuse me, but was that REALLY Maxie showing genuine sympathy towards Lulu, and willing to taking on psychopathic papa Zacchara to help Lulu out? Not only has Kirsten Storms made Maxie HER character with her interpretation of who Maxie Jones-Scorpio is and should be, she’s given the character such a wonderfully sharp edge. I don’t mind seeing that edge occasionally softened. Today, I didn’t know who to feel sorrier for, Lulu or Maxie. Maxie stopped caring about anyone other than herself long ago. She seemed almost as lost as Lulu.

To see her give a damn about Lulu’s condition, enough to take on old man Zacchara in order to make sure that Lulu could see Johnny, gave me hope for the character. It gave me hope that the writers would continue down the path of creating a multi-layered ingenue fans would come to appreciate for years to come. Well done, Kirsten, well done! Oh, and Maxie’s new look, the mini-Kate Howard look, is working for her.

Katie/Connie is going to need Maxie’s adoration by the time Sonny finds out that she lied about his child and has been keeping Olivia’s secret this entire time. Someone set up the barware, it’s time for Sonny to start smashing things!

How interesting that Katie/Connie places such a high premium on honesty… and has been able to look Sonny in the eye this entire time, knowing the secret she’s kept from him. I can’t wait! Should we place bets on whether Carly finds out before anyone else and torments Katie/Connie and Olivia? Are we taking bets on whether the earlier rumors are true and Spinelli is Sonny’s long lost son, after all?